Transport for London consults residents on 50mph speed limit at Stirling Corner

Transport for London is seeking the views of members of the public on its plans to cut speed limits on a “death-trap “roundabout.

The transport agency is running a consultation on whether to reduce the speed limit to 50mph on the approach to the Stirling Corner roundabout between Rowley Lane and Courtland Avenue.

Pedestrians claim they struggle to cross the road to get to the Morrisons superstore, because traffic zooms from the A1 at a speed of 70mph.

Excessive speeds have been blamed for a series of serious accidents at the junction, described as a “death-trap” by those who use it.

A spokesman for TfL said it wanted to ensure everyone who uses this section of road can continue to do so in a safe and organised manner.

He continued: “The aim of reducing the speed limit on this busy stretch of road is to make journey times more reliable by helping traffic to flow more smoothly and to help reduce collisions of the approach to Stirling Corner.”

Full-time traffic signals are being trialled at the roundabout until May to establish whether the lights are successful in reducing accidents.

Greater London Authority member Andrew Dismore, who has been campaigning to make Stirling Corner safer for many years, welcomed the consultation.

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He said: “It’s an inherently dangerous roundabout and reducing the speed limit is essential - it’s the only way to make things a bit safer there.

“Things are looking very positive now because we have been campaigning for this for a very long time. It’s been a hard battle, but it’s a step in the right direction.

“We’ve finally got the traffic lights turned on, though we are worried we might lose those. People need to respond to the consultation so we can finally see changes here.”

Tony De Swarte, who lives in Nash Close in Elstree said he was “100 per cent” behind the proposals.

He added: “Driving around the roundabout at 70mph is completely unnecessary. It is not a race track, people should go to Silverstone if they want to drive like that.

“The only people who will be opposed to cutting the speed limit will be those inconsiderate drivers who put the lives of other people using the roundabout at risk.”

Long-time campaigner Sue Alford, of Hunter Close, Borehamwood, said she hopes this is a step in the right direction.

She said:”I am delighted some progress is being made s being made to improve safety on this roundabout.

“I urge people to look at the proposals and respond positively to them. I also would like people to write in expressing their support for the full-time traffic signals and their role in cutting accidents.”

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Mayor of Borehamwood Cllr Clive Butchins said the consultation would be the subject of debate at the Transport and Road Safety Forum at the Civic Offices in Elstree Way on Thursday.

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Comments (20)

Transport for London consults residents on 50mph speed limit at Stirling Corner

TFEB says...6:00pm Fri 21 Feb 14

People do not go around that roundabout at 70mph, that is just not possible. Just proves Darwin was right.

People do not go around that roundabout at 70mph, that is just not possible.
Just proves Darwin was right.TFEB

People do not go around that roundabout at 70mph, that is just not possible. Just proves Darwin was right.

Score: 2

You don't fool me says...6:48pm Fri 21 Feb 14

The speed of the vehicles on this roundabout are way to high. The fact that you can approach this roundabout at 70mph from the A1 Southbound is crazy. A more appropriate speed would be 40mph from all directions. If this saves just one injury then it would be worth it.

The speed of the vehicles on this roundabout are way to high. The fact that you can approach this roundabout at 70mph from the A1 Southbound is crazy. A more appropriate speed would be 40mph from all directions. If this saves just one injury then it would be worth it.You don't fool me

The speed of the vehicles on this roundabout are way to high. The fact that you can approach this roundabout at 70mph from the A1 Southbound is crazy. A more appropriate speed would be 40mph from all directions. If this saves just one injury then it would be worth it.

Score: 0

nlygo says...7:46pm Fri 21 Feb 14

Dismore didnt do anything about this whilst he was the local MP from 1997 to 2010

Dismore didnt do anything about this whilst he was the local MP from 1997 to 2010nlygo

Dismore didnt do anything about this whilst he was the local MP from 1997 to 2010

Score: 2

clive4it says...9:48pm Fri 21 Feb 14

I did say that the consultation is very welcome. I shall be encouraging as many people as possible to respond positively. See you on Thursday at 7pm - note the time.

I did say that the consultation is very welcome. I shall be encouraging as many people as possible to respond positively. See you on Thursday at 7pm - note the time.clive4it

I did say that the consultation is very welcome. I shall be encouraging as many people as possible to respond positively. See you on Thursday at 7pm - note the time.

Score: 0

Neville Longbottom says...10:54pm Fri 21 Feb 14

"See you on Thursday at 7pm," no you won't. I have a life to live. Don't you?

"See you on Thursday at 7pm," no you won't.
I have a life to live. Don't you?Neville Longbottom

"See you on Thursday at 7pm," no you won't. I have a life to live. Don't you?

Score: -1

John_W says...9:45am Sat 22 Feb 14

As long as the speed limit is as well as the lights and not instead of. As someone who comes north from Apex corner every day, I rarely get above 50mph anyway. The speed limit would have been useful before the lights were on full time, as when the road was quiet some drivers did come on to the roundabout too fast. My bigest complaint at the moment is drivers who fail to indicate correctly, if at all.

As long as the speed limit is as well as the lights and not instead of.
As someone who comes north from Apex corner every day, I rarely get above 50mph anyway. The speed limit would have been useful before the lights were on full time, as when the road was quiet some drivers did come on to the roundabout too fast.
My bigest complaint at the moment is drivers who fail to indicate correctly, if at all.John_W

As long as the speed limit is as well as the lights and not instead of. As someone who comes north from Apex corner every day, I rarely get above 50mph anyway. The speed limit would have been useful before the lights were on full time, as when the road was quiet some drivers did come on to the roundabout too fast. My bigest complaint at the moment is drivers who fail to indicate correctly, if at all.

Score: 9

david Burcombe says...2:41pm Sat 22 Feb 14

Even 40 mph is too fast I hope to be at the transport meeting on Thursday but will have to leave before 8 Pm as i have a meeting at 8 pm

Even 40 mph is too fast I hope to be at the transport meeting on Thursday but will have to leave before 8 Pm as i have a meeting at 8 pmdavid Burcombe

Even 40 mph is too fast I hope to be at the transport meeting on Thursday but will have to leave before 8 Pm as i have a meeting at 8 pm

Score: -6

Believe in better says...9:42pm Sat 22 Feb 14

Neville Longbottom wrote…

"See you on Thursday at 7pm," no you won't. I have a life to live. Don't you?

Clearly living your life means not supporting or standing up for anything you believe in. God forbid that the efforts made by those who protect your rights should interfere with you having a life. Good job some people out here are prepared to fight for what they believe in.... and spend their very valuable time doing it. Living off the back of others that make an effort - way to go Neville Longbottom....

[quote][p][bold]Neville Longbottom[/bold] wrote:
"See you on Thursday at 7pm," no you won't.
I have a life to live. Don't you?[/p][/quote]Clearly living your life means not supporting or standing up for anything you believe in. God forbid that the efforts made by those who protect your rights should interfere with you having a life. Good job some people out here are prepared to fight for what they believe in.... and spend their very valuable time doing it. Living off the back of others that make an effort - way to go Neville Longbottom....Believe in better

Neville Longbottom wrote…

"See you on Thursday at 7pm," no you won't. I have a life to live. Don't you?

Clearly living your life means not supporting or standing up for anything you believe in. God forbid that the efforts made by those who protect your rights should interfere with you having a life. Good job some people out here are prepared to fight for what they believe in.... and spend their very valuable time doing it. Living off the back of others that make an effort - way to go Neville Longbottom....

Score: 2

Neville Longbottom says...12:49am Sun 23 Feb 14

Believe in better, Cheers.

Believe in better, Cheers.Neville Longbottom

Believe in better, Cheers.

Score: 0

TFEB says...8:42am Sun 23 Feb 14

Don't forget the views of the tens of thousands of commuters that use this roundabout on the UKs major A road, there are far more of them than there are local drivers.

Don't forget the views of the tens of thousands of commuters that use this roundabout on the UKs major A road, there are far more of them than there are local drivers.TFEB

Don't forget the views of the tens of thousands of commuters that use this roundabout on the UKs major A road, there are far more of them than there are local drivers.

Score: -3

studio70. says...11:27pm Sun 23 Feb 14

david Burcombe wrote…

Even 40 mph is too fast I hope to be at the transport meeting on Thursday but will have to leave before 8 Pm as i have a meeting at 8 pm

I agree- people are obsessed with an extra 10 or 20 mph- you are just racing to the next bottleneck- people enter this roundabout at break neck speed.

[quote][p][bold]david Burcombe[/bold] wrote:
Even 40 mph is too fast I hope to be at the transport meeting on Thursday but will have to leave before 8 Pm as i have a meeting at 8 pm[/p][/quote]I agree- people are obsessed with an extra 10 or 20 mph- you are just racing to the next bottleneck- people enter this roundabout at break neck speed.studio70.

david Burcombe wrote…

Even 40 mph is too fast I hope to be at the transport meeting on Thursday but will have to leave before 8 Pm as i have a meeting at 8 pm

I agree- people are obsessed with an extra 10 or 20 mph- you are just racing to the next bottleneck- people enter this roundabout at break neck speed.

How can reducing the speed limit from 70mph to 50 mph all the way from Courtland Avenue to Rowley Lane actually reduce the risk of accident at Stirling Corner? The traffic on the A1 clearly has to slow to well below 50mph as it approaches Stirling Corner, so a mile-long reduced speed limit is not going to make the slightest difference. I challenge the proposers of this supposed solution to present evidence to show that it will help. It strikes me that the only sensible solution is a pushbutton-controlle d pedestrian crossing at the junction. ln my experience, very few pedestrians cross the junction and so a pedestrian-controlle d crossing will not impede the A1 traffic to a significant extent.

How can reducing the speed limit from 70mph to 50 mph all the way from Courtland Avenue to Rowley Lane actually reduce the risk of accident at Stirling Corner? The traffic on the A1 clearly has to slow to well below 50mph as it approaches Stirling Corner, so a mile-long reduced speed limit is not going to make the slightest difference. I challenge the proposers of this supposed solution to present evidence to show that it will help.
It strikes me that the only sensible solution is a pushbutton-controlle
d pedestrian crossing at the junction. ln my experience, very few pedestrians cross the junction and so a pedestrian-controlle
d crossing will not impede the A1 traffic to a significant extent.Edgar de Jarnac

How can reducing the speed limit from 70mph to 50 mph all the way from Courtland Avenue to Rowley Lane actually reduce the risk of accident at Stirling Corner? The traffic on the A1 clearly has to slow to well below 50mph as it approaches Stirling Corner, so a mile-long reduced speed limit is not going to make the slightest difference. I challenge the proposers of this supposed solution to present evidence to show that it will help. It strikes me that the only sensible solution is a pushbutton-controlle d pedestrian crossing at the junction. ln my experience, very few pedestrians cross the junction and so a pedestrian-controlle d crossing will not impede the A1 traffic to a significant extent.

Score: -1

Edgar de Jarnac says...5:38pm Wed 26 Feb 14

It's weird the way that in my previous post the "d" of "controlled" has twice been pushed over onto the following line. Somebody at the Times Series should look into this sloppy error.

It's weird the way that in my previous post the "d" of "controlled" has twice been pushed over onto the following line. Somebody at the Times Series should look into this sloppy error.Edgar de Jarnac

It's weird the way that in my previous post the "d" of "controlled" has twice been pushed over onto the following line. Somebody at the Times Series should look into this sloppy error.

Score: 0

Neville Longbottom says...6:46pm Wed 26 Feb 14

"Edgar de Jarnac," you're the sloppy one fella.

"Edgar de Jarnac," you're the sloppy one fella.Neville Longbottom

"Edgar de Jarnac," you're the sloppy one fella.

Score: -2

Neville Longbottom says...6:46pm Wed 26 Feb 14

When will the madness of people breaking their necks end?

When will the madness of people breaking their necks end?Neville Longbottom

When will the madness of people breaking their necks end?

Score: 0

Believe in better says...10:21am Thu 27 Feb 14

Edgar de Jarnac wrote…

How can reducing the speed limit from 70mph to 50 mph all the way from Courtland Avenue to Rowley Lane actually reduce the risk of accident at Stirling Corner? The traffic on the A1 clearly has to slow to well below 50mph as it approaches Stirling Corner, so a mile-long reduced speed limit is not going to make the slightest difference. I challenge the proposers of this supposed solution to present evidence to show that it will help. It strikes me that the only sensible solution is a pushbutton-controlle d pedestrian crossing at the junction. ln my experience, very few pedestrians cross the junction and so a pedestrian-controlle d crossing will not impede the A1 traffic to a significant extent.

Very few people cross the A1 because it is just too dangerous. A lot of people get a bus across! We used to walk to the Harvester in the summer, but after a couple of near misses we now drive. However you dress it vehicles approach and leave the roundabout at speed and if the speed across the roundabout was dropped to 40mph people would not be gunning their engines to bring them back up to 70mph at the first opportunity they get, which is usually as they come off the roundabout.

[quote][p][bold]Edgar de Jarnac[/bold] wrote:
How can reducing the speed limit from 70mph to 50 mph all the way from Courtland Avenue to Rowley Lane actually reduce the risk of accident at Stirling Corner? The traffic on the A1 clearly has to slow to well below 50mph as it approaches Stirling Corner, so a mile-long reduced speed limit is not going to make the slightest difference. I challenge the proposers of this supposed solution to present evidence to show that it will help.
It strikes me that the only sensible solution is a pushbutton-controlle
d pedestrian crossing at the junction. ln my experience, very few pedestrians cross the junction and so a pedestrian-controlle
d crossing will not impede the A1 traffic to a significant extent.[/p][/quote]Very few people cross the A1 because it is just too dangerous. A lot of people get a bus across! We used to walk to the Harvester in the summer, but after a couple of near misses we now drive.
However you dress it vehicles approach and leave the roundabout at speed and if the speed across the roundabout was dropped to 40mph people would not be gunning their engines to bring them back up to 70mph at the first opportunity they get, which is usually as they come off the roundabout.Believe in better

Edgar de Jarnac wrote…

How can reducing the speed limit from 70mph to 50 mph all the way from Courtland Avenue to Rowley Lane actually reduce the risk of accident at Stirling Corner? The traffic on the A1 clearly has to slow to well below 50mph as it approaches Stirling Corner, so a mile-long reduced speed limit is not going to make the slightest difference. I challenge the proposers of this supposed solution to present evidence to show that it will help. It strikes me that the only sensible solution is a pushbutton-controlle d pedestrian crossing at the junction. ln my experience, very few pedestrians cross the junction and so a pedestrian-controlle d crossing will not impede the A1 traffic to a significant extent.

Very few people cross the A1 because it is just too dangerous. A lot of people get a bus across! We used to walk to the Harvester in the summer, but after a couple of near misses we now drive. However you dress it vehicles approach and leave the roundabout at speed and if the speed across the roundabout was dropped to 40mph people would not be gunning their engines to bring them back up to 70mph at the first opportunity they get, which is usually as they come off the roundabout.

Score: 0

RedBen says...7:58am Fri 28 Feb 14

Are the people mocking the proposition the same contentious half wits speeding along narrow Borehamwood roads failing to obey basic high way code on roundabouts and ignorant of what an indicator or break can do? Yep probably the same ones. Mostly white van man, base ball wearing spotty oiks and flash oxygen wasting businessmen in their company cars.

Are the people mocking the proposition the same contentious half wits speeding along narrow Borehamwood roads failing to obey basic high way code on roundabouts and ignorant of what an indicator or break can do? Yep probably the same ones. Mostly white van man, base ball wearing spotty oiks and flash oxygen wasting businessmen in their company cars.RedBen

Are the people mocking the proposition the same contentious half wits speeding along narrow Borehamwood roads failing to obey basic high way code on roundabouts and ignorant of what an indicator or break can do? Yep probably the same ones. Mostly white van man, base ball wearing spotty oiks and flash oxygen wasting businessmen in their company cars.

Score: -1

mr.taxpayer says...3:16pm Fri 28 Feb 14

All this lot moaning about how dangerous this roundabout is, but they are all happy to stand next to it and have photos taken to be in the paper. Also, note how all are apparently over 50+. Maybe it's their driving reactions that aren't up to scratch if they have a problem with this road? I've never had a problem pulling out on this roundabout as I use common sense and fast reactions, as you should when joining a fast moving A road.

All this lot moaning about how dangerous this roundabout is, but they are all happy to stand next to it and have photos taken to be in the paper.
Also, note how all are apparently over 50+. Maybe it's their driving reactions that aren't up to scratch if they have a problem with this road?
I've never had a problem pulling out on this roundabout as I use common sense and fast reactions, as you should when joining a fast moving A road.mr.taxpayer

All this lot moaning about how dangerous this roundabout is, but they are all happy to stand next to it and have photos taken to be in the paper. Also, note how all are apparently over 50+. Maybe it's their driving reactions that aren't up to scratch if they have a problem with this road? I've never had a problem pulling out on this roundabout as I use common sense and fast reactions, as you should when joining a fast moving A road.

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